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The passing of Russell Coope in 2011 brought an end to a vigorous, dynamic research career that launched the field of Quaternary entomology. This issue of Quaternary International is composed mostly of papers given in his honour in June, 2012 at Royal Holloway University of London. It comprises 21 papers that cover a wide range of topics. The reconstruction of British Pleistocene environments was arguably Coope's most important contribution to science. Three papers containing previously unpublished Middle and Late Pleistocene beetle faunas and their interpretations are included here. A discussion paper on the origins of the insect faunas of North Atlantic islands echoes another of Coope's research interests, as do two studies of late glacial climates of northwest Europe. A suite of several papers discussing the environmental archaeology of sites ranging in age from the Bronze Age to the early 20th century honour Coope's pioneering work in this field. Pleistocene research from sites in North America and Japan complete the volume, followed by descriptions of two large-scale insect fossil databases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Isotopic analysis has become one of the most popular arenas of archaeological science, in part due to its versatility to uncover intriguing insights from a range of organic and inorganic archaeological materials. However, alongside an increase in popularity, the field has seen the rise of dissemination of publications that do not pass quality control, do not apply robust interpretative frameworks, or do not report data in ways that would make them amenable to critical evaluation or inclusion in large meta-analyses. This paper represents an effort to clarify some of the most pressing weaknesses and misconceptions in 'traditional' applications of isotopic techniques in archaeology: measurement of stable carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen isotope values of organic and inorganic materials (bulk bone collagen, bulk tooth dentine, seeds; bulk and incremental tooth enamel, molluscan shells), and strontium isotope ratio analysis of tooth enamel and cremated bone. The discussion centers on three key aspects of research: (1) Selecting samples, with advice on building comparative baselines (or more appropriately 'base intervals ') and words of caution on interpreting stable carbon isotope values measured during AMS radiocarbon dating. (2) Handling data, including tips on exploratory data analysis, graphical visualization, and statistical assessment of differences between groups; with particular reference to the Statement on p -values published by the American Statistical Association. (3) Reporting results, with advice on using correct terminology and decimal points, calculating measurement precision and accuracy, and communicating results using effective scientific language. The advice provided in this paper does not cover all aspects of project design and dissemination but will hopefully provide clarification within the above key areas and inspire further discussion of effective and impactful applications of isotopic techniques in archaeology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the first general portrait of the members of the Worked Bone Research Group (WBRG), a worldwide community of archaeologists interested in artefacts made of bone, antler, teeth, ivory, and shell. Using bibliometric data and the results of an online survey addressed to the WBRG members in early 2022, it focuses on three aspects of the WBRG members: 1) their personal and academic background; 2) the kind of research they do, how they get it funded and where they publish it; and 3) how their work was affected by the Covid-19 pandemic and how they see the future of their subdiscipline. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The degree of preservation and the extractability of organic molecules in both archaeological and paleontological skeletal material has been the objective of many studies during the last decades and have shown extremely promising and interesting results (Schweitzer et al., 1997, 2007; Poulakakis et al., 2002; Schmidt-Schultz & Schultz, 2004; Dotsika et al., 2011). Studies on such molecules via various protocols of extraction as well as isotopic and spectroscopic analyses (Stathopoulou et al., 2008; Dotsika et al., 2011; Kontopoulos et al., 2019) have led to important information concerning evolutionary, environmental and diagenetic issues. Collagen is one of the most abundant proteins in skeletal material and its preservation in fossil material may indicate the preservation of other extremely important biomolecules such as DNA (Turner-Walker et al., 2008). This paper aims to present results concerning the evaluation of organic preservation as well as the extraction and quantification of collagen in samples from the Quaternary locations of Tilos and Dispilio (Greece) and Aghia Napa (Cyprus). Infrared Spectroscopy (ATR and NIR) was applied to all samples, prior to extraction in means of collagen prescreening and following extraction (where successful), to study the exact composition of the extracts and examine the correlation between collagen preservation and the samples' diagenetic profile (Stathopoulou et al., 2008; Kuczumow et al., 2010; Cleland et al., 2015; Stathopoulou et al., 2019). The extraction of collagen was attempted via modifications of the Longin (1971) method and specifically those of Maspero et al. (2011), Semal and Orban (1995) and Ambrose (1990). According to our results, only the Ambrose method led to successful collagen extraction and specifically only in the Dispilio samples. The collagen yield values for this material varied significantly (0,3–6,1% w/w) and seemed to strongly correlate to the different contexts found within the archaeological site. The IR analysis of the extracted Dispilio collagen indicated the presence of impurities such as carbonates and subsequently raised questions relating to the efficacy of the extraction method. Issues concerning geochemical and diagenetic parameters within the strata of the waterlogged site of Dispilio that could be connected to the different collagen yield as well as the methodological problems that emerged during the attempted extraction in all samples are discussed as well as the applicability of these methods on samples with reduced organic content. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the first results of archaeological fieldwork carried out in the estuaries of the province of Bizkaia. Such estuaries have been used and transformed since ancient times yet little is known after the medieval period. Much of the evidence located is from the last 100 years or slightly earlier. In fact, many of the remains are results of the use of the riparian zone from the beginning of the 20th century. Nevertheless, they are the results of the use of an area which should be recorded to understand better what they represent and the impact that human activities have had on the archaeological record since. Although jetties, docks, dykes and other structural features were found in the survey, this paper also deals with some wrecks which were excavated and recorded. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the results of the study of raw material procurement on two late Middle Paleolithic sites, Katta Sai 1 and Katta Sai 2, located in the western Tian Shan piedmont. The previous studies allowed to identify an unknown Levallois variant of human cultural adaptation in the regional Middle Paleolithic. Predetermined flake technology focused on obtaining the thin triangular flakes or even blades. At the same time, the river pebbles of effusive rocks brought from the nearby river gorges were used for knapping. The paper analyses the sources of the raw material collected, and its knapping quality together with the technological features indicating how the manufacturing scheme was adjusted to the quality of used raw material. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the first palaeodemographic results of a newly assembled region-wide radiocarbon record of the Arctic regions of northern Norway. The dataset contains a comprehensive collection of radiocarbon dates in the area (N = 1205) and spans the 10,000-year period of hunter-gatherer settlement history from 11500 to 1500 cal BP. Utilizing local, high-resolution palaeoclimate data, the paper performs multi-proxy correlation testing of climate and demographic dynamics, looking for hunter-gatherer responses to climate variability. The paper compares both long-term climate trends and short-term disruptive climate events with the demographic development in the region. The results demonstrate marked demographic fluctuations throughout the period, characterized by a general increase, punctuated by three significant boom and bust-cycles centred on 6000, 3800 and 2200 cal BP, interpreted as instances of climate forcing of human demographic responses. The results strongly suggest the North Cape Current as a primary driver in the local environment and supports the patterns of covariance between coastal climate proxies and the palaeodemographic model. A mechanism of climate forcing mediation through marine trophic webs is proposed as a tentative explanation of the observed demographic fluxes, and a comparison with inter-regional results demonstrate remarkable similarity in demographic trends across mid-Holocene north and west Europe. The results of the north Norwegian radiocarbon record are thus consistent with independent, international efforts, corroborating the existing pan-European results and help further substantiate super-regional climate variability as the primary driver of population dynamics regardless of economic adaptation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores how significant are the ecological and climatic variables to influence the stable isotopes of guanacos. Lama guanicoe bone collagen carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratios are assumed as a macro regional average value in west Argentina, mostly as a baseline to model archaeological human diet. If stable isotopes on mammals reflex ecology and climate, we need to know how those variables influence mammals bone stable isotope ratio. This paper analyses the 13C/12C and 15 N/14N ratio on bone collagen on 122 guanacos from Northwest Patagonia during the Holocene. The results confirm significant variation in both isotopes between Monte and Andean-Patagonian specimens. Guanacos from Monte shows higher δ13C and δ15N than those from Andean-Patagonian. Temporal trends indicate variation through Holocene but this variation is not spatially homogeneous. In this paper we suggest that Medieval Climatic Anomaly had stronger effect in Monte desert than in Patagonia desert, generating driest and/or hottest conditions between 1250 and 600 years BP. Those variations need to be considered to reconstruct human diet at least during the second part of the Holocene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper argues that the Rocky Mountains played a significantly more important role in the process of the peopling of the New World than archaeologists have traditionally recognized. Although First Americans did not reach the Rockies before they set foot in any other New World region—they could not have, regardless of their point of entry—by Clovis time, evidence suggests that Clovis people knew the Rocky Mountain landscape intimately. Archaeologists should have long anticipated this, given the many resources the Rocky Mountains offer that adjacent, albeit archaeologically better-known regions such as the Plains and some parts of the Far West do not; at least not as ubiquitously. These include plentiful water in the form of streams, lakes, snowpack, and glaciers; high-quality sources of obsidian, chert, quartzite and other knappable stone; and a vertically oriented landscape that maximizes floral and faunal diversity within comparatively condensed space. Two other non-economic characteristics likely contributed significantly to the appeal of the Rocky Mountains to some First Americans: the power and sanctity nearly all humans attribute to mountains, and the seemingly little-recognized fact that northeast Asian Upper Paleolithic people who populated the New World during the terminal Pleistocene occupied mountainous landscapes for some 45,000 years prior to their departure. For many First Americans, mountains—not the flat, windswept tundra of Siberian stereotypes—had always been home. Evidence for the familiarity of Clovis groups with the Rocky Mountain landscapes comes principally from three Clovis caches: Anzick, Fenn, and Mahaffy. All three caches are located in the Rockies, collectively contain artifacts made from ten of the highest-quality stone raw materials available in the Southern, Central and Northern Rockies, and at least one of the caches accompanies the burial of a young child who appears to have been interred intentionally on a prominent and likely sacred landform in a mountain valley. Bringing the paper's argument full circle, that same child's genetic profile shows a direct link to that of another youngster buried thousands of years earlier at the Late Glacial Maximum Mal'ta site in the mountainous Trans-Baikal region of Siberia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Star Carr and other Mesolithic sites in the Vale of Pickering, North Yorkshire, UK, have seen long-standing interest from archaeologists since the 1950's, and offer a vivid picture of various aspects of post-glacial hunter–gatherers in Northwest Europe. However, answers to several important aspects of prehistoric behavior still remain unclear, particularly concerning local subsistence and settlement strategies. This paper develops a comparative approach to these questions, and draws structured analogies between the British Mesolithic and the Jomon period of Holocene hunter–gatherer archaeology in Japan, both of which occupied similar temperate/sub-boreal woodland environments. Thus the purpose of this paper is to better understand early Mesolithic socio-economic strategies in the Vale of Pickering, by: 1) re-considering the organization of subsistence at Star Carr via careful comparison with the Jomon period site of Awashimadai in Kanto District, paying renewed attention to the two main features of Star Carr, i.e. the organization woodland deer hunting and the lack of evidence for use of aquatic resources; and 2) by re-examining overall land use strategies in the Vale of Pickering by re-analysis of faunal remains first recovered from excavations conducted in the late 1970's and 1980's. The results of this comparative analysis indicate that Star Carr was a summer hunting camp organized for deer, probably occupied exclusively by people socially specialized in hunting, and that Mesolithic land-use strategies probably extended well beyond the Vale of Pickering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the dispersals of Homo sapiens out-of-Africa and discusses the succession of ‘Out-of-Africa’ and ‘Back-to-Africa’ movements from a North African perspective, as a major corridor of dispersal. Specifically, the consequences of anatomically modern human (AMH) dispersals both from North Africa into Eurasia and from there back into North Africa are investigated, and the archaeological and genetic outcomes of such forward and back migrations subsequently considered. In order to achieve these aims, this paper focuses on the dispersals of early modern humans out of North Africa during the Upper Pleistocene, explores possible hypotheses of interbreeding between AMH and Neanderthals, and analyzes the Back-to-Africa movement which appears to have occurred during the final Pleistocene. The debate on the possibilities, timing, and location of interbreeding has recently emphasized the importance of the encounters and genetic admixture between African AMH and Neanderthals when they met as a result of dispersal out of North Africa. The genetic evidence has also suggested a Back to-Africa migration by some AMH who had interbred with Neanderthals outside of Africa before resettling in North Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bass Strait divides mainland Australia from Tasmania (Fig. 1). During much of the Pleistocene, lowered sea levels meant there was a land bridge joining these land masses. It is now generally accepted that the formation of the Strait by post-glacial sea rise effectively separated the human populations of Tasmania from those of mainland Australia, leading to one of the most extreme cases of isolation known on the global scale. The Tasmanian Aborigines were separated for some 12,000 years from their nearest neighbours in Southeast Australia. None of the larger islands of Bass Strait appears to have been occupied at the time of European contact, and the archaeological record sees this lack of occupation stretching back centuries, and millennia in some cases. Some 35 years ago, Rhys Jones (1977) presented a complex model relating to the past human occupation of the Bass Strait Islands. Using biogeographical concepts and principles he concluded that there were critical points of size and distance that led to the abandonment of these islands, with the exception of the Hunter group in northwest Tasmania. Archaeological research carried out since 1977 does not militate against the broad strokes of this model – there is still no evidence for more recent contact between Australia and Tasmania, or for any recent occupation of most of the abandoned islands. There is however scope for a more nuanced consideration of their occupation and abandonment, in the light of more recent research which this paper will attempt. In general, archaeologists have not considered in this framework the latest phase of Aboriginal occupation in the Bass Strait Islands; there has been an ongoing Aboriginal population since the early 19th century, continuing many of the traditions of Tasmanian Aboriginal society. This paper attempts a continuous narrative from archaeology and history of the Tasmanian Aborigines and the Bass Strait Islands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The preservation of palaeoenvironmental and archeological records in cave and rock shelter contexts is often called into question for Pleistocene sequences. Records are always fragmentary and the preservation of sediments and archaeological remains is partial and differential, according to site history. The karst deposits are often frequently described as disturbed due to post-depositional processes and phases of erosion over time. However, taphonomical analyses and some very well-preserved evidence attest to the capacity of caves to record data. Systematic and interdisciplinary fieldwork and studies allow for the reconstruction of some characteristics of Neanderthal occupations in their biostratigraphical and geochronological context. The geographic area under consideration here is the Rhône Valley. The right bank of the Middle Rhône Valley has yielded more than ten Middle Palaeolithic sites. Some of them have been studied recently through interdisciplinary fieldwork, providing new data on the end of the Middle Pleistocene and the beginning of the Upper Pleistocene. For this paper, we focus on four sites dated from the end of MIS 5, MIS 4 and the beginning of MIS 3, containing layers with evidence of Neanderthal occupations: Saint-Marcel, Abri du Maras, Abri des Pêcheurs and Le Figuier. All these sites are rock shelters or cave chambers and porches belonging to a karst system. The aim of our research program is to provide as much data as possible on Neanderthal occupations in their environmental contexts, in order to describe subsistence strategies and land use throughout time and potential links with climatic changes. In this paper, we evaluate the feasibility of assessing the relationship between climatic change and behaviour during the Middle Palaeolithic by describing the main archaeological material and palaeoenvironmental records of these four sites. Then, in the discussion, we conjointly examine the data from each site to assess this key question, even though the low resolution of cave and rock shelter records makes it difficult to establish an accurate chronology for human occupations and to provide a detailed description of the environment around the site for each human occupation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the analysis of a radiocarbon database of the North Coast of Santa Cruz (central Patagonia, Argentina), is presented. Dated archaeological samples were obtained from 56 different types of archaeological sites (open-air -residential sites and burials-, and also rock shelters). The objective of this paper is assessing the continuities and discontinuities in the chronological signal of the area and identifying tendencies along the Holocene. The database currently contains 75 radiocarbon dates falling between ca. 8000 and 300 BP. The radiocarbon data base provides information on the chronological, spatial and contextual variability of the archaeological record of North Coast of Santa Cruz. By means of different analysis of sum of probabilities, we present three different chronological moments of human use of the coast and intermediate zone can be identified. A first moment is represented by early evidence of settlement during Middle Holocene. A second moment corresponds to a hiatus between ca. 5800 and ca. 3900 BP without archaeological evidence. Finally, a third moment is where an increasing of chronological signal occurred, related to greater artifactual variability and an increase in the intensity of human settlement in the Patagonian region. The causes that could have influenced in the discontinuity of the chronological signal of the study area, and the characteristics of the different moments identified are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Modern Arctic Indigenous peoples face many interconnected pressures, not the least of which is anthropogenic climate change, which is emerging as one of the most dramatic drivers of social and economic change in recent memory. In this paper, we investigate whether or not insights into premodern strategies for coping with climate change—and especially the "deeper histories" of traditional ways-of-knowing—can play a useful role in future planning, management and mitigation efforts. We do this in two ways. First, we assess this special issue's 17 archaeological case studies, in order to determine whether they are conducted within a framework that is consistent with approaches to resilience in studies of modern Arctic communities. Second, we focus on three climate-driven challenges faced by Canadian Arctic Inuit: safe travel, food security and food safety. For each, we identify specific ways in which studies of past social-ecological systems intersect with modern climate adaptation. We conclude that since archaeological insights highlight the operation of decision-making processes within long-term culture-adaptive trajectories, they can offer unique insights into the much shorter-term processes currently underway. While we highlight many potential directions for productive collaboration, much more work is required in local and regional settings to demonstrate the full potential of archaeology for future-oriented planning and mitigation efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we present and assess human isotopic data (δ13C and δ15N) available for Southern Chile. We analyze 24 cases from six different geographical zones, dated 200-1850 AD. This new information allows us to characterize individuals who had different subsistence patterns, social organization and historical trajectories, vis-a-vis phenomena like the adoption of ceramics (150 BC), cultigens (750-1000 AD) and the arrival of Europeans (1550 AD). This is complemented by a regional baseline of 45 archaeological faunal and plant resources. Based on our results, three dietary patterns can be identified over time (from 1000 to 1850 AD): one oriented towards marine resources, another towards C 3 plants and terrestrial protein, and the last focused on a mixed consumption of C 3 and C 4 plants, complemented by intake of terrestrial and marine protein. These cases show significant intra-zone consistency over time, and high inter-zone variability. This heterogeneous situation is evident even in synchronous individuals ascribed to the same cultural-historical unit or inhabiting the same geographical macro-zone (valley, coast, islands). It also contrasts with results from adjacent areas to Southern Chile. This highlights the complex diet variability that existed in societies which otherwise appear to be extremely alike in their archaeological record (burials, pottery) and ethnographic features (language, rituals). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Archaeology has been using stable oxygen as an isotopic tracer linked with water consumption for decades, and it has been demonstrated to be a powerful tool to assess paleomobility in bioarchaeology. Central-eastern North Patagonia (Argentina) is an especially appropriate region to apply it since it presents a high density of hunter-gatherer burials, it was a nodal zone criss-crossed by an extensive network of important routes, and it is characterized by a high environmental fragmentation due to the scarcity of fresh water sources. The aim of this paper is to build an empirical stable oxygen isotope baseline of terrestrial surface waters to assess the potentiality of tracing past human movement. We analyzed 46 water samples from 13 locations with permanent sources (rivers, springs, streams), compared it with predictions of precipitation and evaluated it considering seasonal variation, altitude and distance from the coast. Our results show that different post-precipitation processes change the isotopic signal from the sources with respect to the local precipitation, and highlight the relevance of analyzing terrestrial water sources. According to their oxygen isotope values we defined five hydrologic zones: Colorado River, Negro River, Closed Basins and Plains, Eastern and Western Somuncurá Foothills. Their identification shows the potential to address past human movement using stable oxygen water baselines in central-eastern North Patagonia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the beginning of 21st century, a new stage began in investigations of the Central Asian Palaeolithic. The main concern is to re-study the key regional sites, applying modern excavation techniques and up-to-date laboratory methods (including chronometric dating) in order to clarify the rationale and chronology of the local cultural sequences. This research allowed some crucial corrections about the chronological and cultural interpretations of the lithic industries in western Central Asia. This paper presents the first results obtained during our reexcavation of Sel'Ungur cave – usually assumed to be one of the earliest Paleolithic sites in Central Asia, described in the late 1980s as belonging to the early Acheulian technocomplex. Sel'Ungur cave is among the most important pre-Upper Palaeolithic site for our understanding of the Pleistocene inhabitants of Central Asia, as did not only yield rich lithic collections found stratified context but also numerous fossil faunal and even some hominin remains. Re-started at 2014, the new excavations at the site have provided enough evidence to refuse an Acheulian interpretation of site's assemblages. Based on detailed technological and typological analyses of the new lithic collection we argue that Sel'Ungurian complex fits better into the early stage of the regional Middle Paleolithic cultural variability. The previously available U-series date of around 126 ka (albeit without a reliable stratigraphic and spatial context), the new TL date 112 ± 19 ka establishing the lower limit, paleontological analyses of newly obtained material as well as the re-examination of the available information on macro- and microfaunal remains excavated in the earlier excavations, as well as the re-study of the anthropological finds support this assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bracketed by the Zagros, Hindukush, Altai, and Himalaya Mountains, Central Asia was a likely a migration route for early people moving into North and East Asia. Because of its central geographic setting, the area also channeled cultural and technological influences and exchange between adjoining regions in early prehistory. In this paper we analyze techno-typological characteristics of stone tool assemblages assigned to Early and Late Epipaleolithic industries from two key archaeological sites in Tajikistan – Tutkaul and Obi-Kiik. We compare –these industries with preceding Upper Paleolithic assemblages from the same region, as well as with cultural entities from the Levant and Zagros which share technological traits. Our study reveals key similarities, suggesting that the Tutkaul and Obi-Kiik techno-complexes belong to a single Epipaleolithic culture – which we refer to as the Tutkaulian – split into a three-stage developmental sequence. We argue that the Tutkaulian, defined by bladelet-based primary reduction and an abundance of geometric microliths, with a chronological progression from trapeze-rectangle to lunate forms, has its origins in the local Upper Paleolithic culture (Kulbulakian) emerging through repeated episodes of cultural exchange with earlier or synchronous Levantine and Zagros industries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The earliest stages of the MSA show the emergence of a number of technical innovations accompanying the appearance of uni-bifacial pointed tools that are the hallmarks of this period. Within the oldest sites of Gademotta and Kulkuletti, a specific technical process applied on convergent tools has been identified: the lateral tranchet blow technical process. This paper questions the value of this process in terms of technical skills and functional purpose and to a broader extent, its value as a chrono-cultural marker. The first clue of this study is to provide an accurate evidence of the intentionality of the tranchet blow process based on the identification of the recurrent technical stages implied in this process. With regards to the study of the emergence of projectile technology in the literature, the morpho-functional significance of this process is also questioned. The hypothesis supported in this paper favor the interpretation of the use of the tools with tranchet blow scars as cutting tools rather than hunting weapons. Therefore, the penetration function of those MSA triangular tools may precede their function as projectile. The discussion shows that, so far, the use of the tranchet blow process was restricted to the oldest sites of Gademotta and Kulkuletti. Since it has been recognized in Tiya surface collections, this process may be considered as a chrono-cultural marker for the Ethiopian MSA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A series of charcoal analyses for nine Upper Palaeolithic caves in northern Spain chronologically placed in MIS 2 (19.6–10.3 ka uncal BP) is presented in this paper. Juniperus, Fabaceae and Salix, together with Hippophae and minor occurrences of Betula, Corylus and deciduous Quercus are recorded in some sites dated prior to 13 ka BP. This open vegetation was still dominant between 13 and 11 ka BP, although the sharp increase of Betula and deciduous taxa indicates greater environmental diversity. Pinus, Betula and deciduous Quercus are dominant between 11 and 10 ka BP. However, the manifestation of charcoal data is conditioned by the interaction of several natural and human factors that are the focus of anthracology. This paper discusses the vegetal landscape surrounding Cantabrian archaeological sites in relation with the major vegetation dynamics outlined in MIS 2 high-resolution pollen records from SW Europe, the available woody resources, and the human exploitation of these plant communities throughout the Late Upper Palaeolithic. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper presents an archaeological–palaeopathological case study from Turfan (western China). Although this area is located outside of the two focus regions of the special issue (Baikal and Hokkaido), it once belonged to the same cultural sphere and experienced intensive contacts and exchanges with the neighbouring regions. The case study presented here combines detailed palaeopathological analysis of human skeletal remains with precise age determination and archaeological and regional contexts, demonstrating the high potential of such studies in arid and semi-arid China. The current paper also presents an unusual early case of prosthetic leg use from western China. The skeleton of a 50–65-year-old man and his wooden leg prosthesis discovered in a tomb in Shengjindian graveyard (Turfan, China) have been examined. Macroscopic lesions observed on ribs two to eleven, between the fifth and sixth cervical vertebra, and on the left knee joint are probably due to tuberculosis infection. The inflammatory process led to osseous ankylosis of the knee, fixing it at 135° flexion and 11° internal rotation, making walking impossible. The lost mobility of the disabled shank was regained by using an externally fitted wooden prosthesis which consists of thigh stabilizer, peg, leather straps, sheep/goat horn reinforcement of the peg tip, and horse/Asiatic ass hoof as sink resistance. Heavy traces of wear and absence of muscle atrophy indicate long-term use of the prosthesis. Ten radiocarbon dates on the prosthesis, human bones and wood pieces from the same grave suggest the most probable age of the burial is about 300–200 BC (68% confidence interval), thus introducing the oldest functional leg prosthesis known to date. The results provide some support for a DNA-based hypothesis that the spread of tuberculosis in Asia was related to intensified inter-regional contacts and higher residential mobility during the first millennium BC. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Together with the disciplines of palaeoanthropology and genetics, archaeological finds and studies on material dating to the Middle Stone Age of sub-Saharan Africa have changed the way scholars think about ancient Africans and the later stages of human evolution. In general, it shows that anatomically modern humans have evolved by ∼200 ka in the region, and that relatively high levels of symbolic behaviour, and behavioural and cognitive complexity were achieved long before the previous 40–50 ka benchmark. The main focus of the paper is on aspects of post-100 ka archaeological material and how it can assist in the reconstruction of hypotheses and models regarding human cognitive and behavioural evolution. Some of the explored topics include fire as engineering tool, the manufacture and use of technologies such as compound adhesives, composite tools, bow-and-arrow sets and snares, and Middle Stone Age housekeeping. Although not central to the paper, an updated list of most Middle Stone Age stone tool assemblages is presented in as context for sites, regions and topics mentioned throughout the text. On a theoretical level, the ratchet analogy as blanket explanation for behavioural and cognitive evolution is critiqued. Instead, the rugged fitness landscape model is brought to mind and combined with a mountaineering analogy to better explain human cognitive and behavioural flexibility as reflected in the Middle Stone Age record of sub-Saharan Africa. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper provides a preliminary chronostratigraphic and palaeoenvironmental framework for the Late Pleistocene archaeological sequence at Melikane Rockshelter in mountainous eastern Lesotho. Renewed excavations at Melikane form part of a larger project investigating marginal landscape use by Late Pleistocene foragers in southern Africa. Geoarchaeological work undertaken at the site supports in-field observations that Melikane experienced regular, often intensive, input of groundwater via fissures in the shelter''s rear wall. This strong hydrogeological connection resulted in episodic disturbances of the sedimentary sequence, exacerbated by other processes such as bioturbation. Despite this taphonomic complexity, a robust chronology for Melikane has been developed, based on tightly cross-correlated accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) 14C with acid-base-wet oxidation stepped-combustion (ABOx-SC) pretreatment and single-grain optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating. The results show that human occupation of Melikane was strongly pulsed, with episodes of Late Pleistocene occupation at ∼80, ∼60, ∼50, ∼46–38 and ∼24 ka. At least three additional occupational pulses occurred in the Holocene at ∼9 ka, ∼3 ka and in the second millennium AD, but these are dealt with only briefly in this paper. Implications of the Late Pleistocene pulsing for the colonisation of high elevations by early modern humans in Africa ahead of dispersals into challenging landscapes beyond the continent are discussed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract This paper summarizes the results of on-going archaeological and palaeoecological research on the floodplain of the river Cauca and adjacent piedmont, with the aim of reconstructing an outline history of the human occupation of the region and its interaction with the environment, beginning in the Late Pleistocene. The difficulties of locating occupation sites in this landscape cannot be overestimated. Although valuable for its preservation of palaeosols, the accumulation of sediment deposited by the river Cauca and its tributaries during periods of flooding can be extremely rapid and the earlier archaeological sites (1000 B.C. to 500 A.D.) are generally buried beneath several metres of alluvium. Under these circumstances, traditional site survey has limited potential and the most promising strategy is the location of palaeosols with evidence of human activity based on soil analysis and palaeobotanical studies. Sedimentology from a dozen deep cores is providing invaluable information on the environments that early human populations in the area would have enjoyed or coped with. The cores testify to a highly dynamic river Cauca and its tributaries resulting in a series of rapid local environmental changes. Besides extensive periodic flooding, past populations were probably affected by tectonic events since numerous faults cross the region. Volcanic ash is a component of many of the soil cores but much was redeposited material from earlier falls, probably during the Pleistocene. Direct archaeological evidence of human activity during the Early and Middle Holocene is limited to a mastodon skeleton with butchering marks on its ribs, and to a surface find of a stone tool (azada) characteristic of this period. Of the numerous fertile palaeosols detected in cores, some have agricultural characteristics and there is evidence of fires, possibly for clearing fields, from the late seventh millennium B.C. while by the third millennium B.C. a site provides evidence of burning in combination with the cultivation of maize (Zea mays) and arrowroot (Maranta arundinacea). While a relatively large number of archaeological sites testify to human activity over much of southwestern Colombia during the Early and Middle Holocene, research has drawn attention to a period of archaeological silence between 2500 and 1000 B.C. when Formative societies were developing in other regions of South America. An important focus of this project is the search for traces of human activity during this period. The palaeosols have important potential for acquiring information on this question since stratigraphical evidence suggests that many lie within this time range. By the Late Holocene (c. 500 B.C.) the Ilama population was established in that region of the alluvial valley centred on Lake Sonso and the town of Palmira, followed by Yotoco and, further south, Malagana; in contrast, in the northern sector of the valley evidence for this sequence remains tentative. Here the only settlement site located so far with very late Formative characteristics produced an entirely new style of pottery. This site (first century B.C.) was in wooded marshland where houses must have been built on stilts, contrasting with Late Period sites (c. AD 500–1500), occupied by a sequence of different cultural groups of the Sonsoide tradition and located on slightly higher ground within the flood plain or in the piedmont. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper reviews recent progress of Japanese shell midden archaeology and discusses how the information from shell middens can help answer some of the key questions in anthropological archaeology today. Over the past several decades, shell midden archaeology in Japan has made significant advances both in terms of theory and method. Active interaction with Japanese and Anglo-American archaeology has resulted in the development of new theoretical approaches, including environmental archaeology, zooarchaeology, and hunter-gatherer archaeology. Methodologically, the adoption of the flotation and water-screening methods has enabled archaeologists to collect quantitative data of faunal assemblages, and sometimes of floral assemblages as well. The dense distribution of shell middens in northeastern Japan and its changes through time are closely related to the regional and temporal variability of the prehistoric Jomon culture (ca. 14,000–500 BC). In this article, shell middens from four regions of Japan are examined: 1) Tohoku, 2) Kanto, 3) Chubu, and 4) Western Japan. The final section of this paper discusses the implications of regional and temporal variability observed among these shell middens. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract Over the last decade, we have conducted an actualistic taphonomic research program in the Humid Pampas of Argentina, in order to build a corpus of information about the taphonomic agents and processes characterizing this sub-region. In this paper, we present a summary of our results after ten years of actualistic taphonomic studies in the Pampas. Our program includes both naturalistic and experimental research. Some of the controlled experiments consist of studies with different-aged guanaco bones, including sub-aerial weathering in a controlled environment, and water transport with disarticulated bones. Other studies were conducted at a local zoo, where we offered different types of prey to native small-sized carnivores (canids, felids, mustelids, and mephitids). Our naturalistic observations include the development of taphonomic transects in different environments. Through this method, we were able to study different topics among which some of the more significant are the movement of bones by small-sized carnivores and the distribution of beached Magellanic penguin specimens along the coast. Particular studies included the analyses of the content of dens occupied by small carnivores, the effects of a grassland fire in a vertebrate assemblage, the modifications produced by a local rodent -vizcacha- in the landscape, and the damage generated by pumas in guanaco carcasses. After ten years of systematic research we contributed to identify the potential mixture between modern bones and the archaeological record in relation to the environment; to determine bone preservation biases according to the properties of the record; to recognize agents responsible of bone accumulation and alteration; and to establish diagnostic criteria in order to differentiate cultural from natural patterns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract It is a rare opportunity, at least in the research of the Neolithic, when one gets the possibility to look 'behind' ceramic decorations and see a concept at work. It is even more rare to be in the position to watch how these concepts and ideas, related customs, designs and decorations change together through consecutive periods and cultures as part of an interlinked system, creating very diverse phenomena but always preserving something, thus maintaining a continuity of the whole. Beside using carefully selected questions and analytic methods the find material in focus must also meet several criteria to provide a suitable source material, involving the constitution of the ceramic sets, the complexity and structure of the decorations, the technological background and its social implications, and perhaps a relatively undisturbed cultural development. The present paper attempts to describe the emergence, transformations and decline of such a system, focusing on changes of practical, social and possible cognitive functions of certain vessel types, incorporating diversified archaeological observations, and utilising concepts from the field of social signaling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Traditionally, studies of Palaeolithic cave art have largely ignored or directly overlooked the red marks of anthropogenic origin that do not belong to figurative categories, in spite of their importance in quantitative terms in this type of art. This paper highlights their importance for better understanding the significance of the cave remains commonly classified as "rock or cave art." To this end, we analysed these marks directly in a number of caves (Etxeberri -Pyrénées-Atlantiques, France-, Lumentxa -Bizkaia, Spain-, Morrón -Jaén, Spain- and Nerja -Málaga, Spain-). This allowed us to differentiate between intentional and other incidental or involuntary red marks. Furthermore, depending on the intrinsic and extrinsic characteristics of these marks, as well as information provided by archaeological and ethnographic findings, we related them to the body painting of their authors. Therefore, an identifiable part of the red marks so common in Palaeolithic cave art (and which could therefore not be considered as art sensu stricto) seems to be produced involuntarily. This could be related with the customs of the Palaeolithic groups attested by the archaeological record, as the frequentation of the innermost areas in the caves or as the decoration their bodies with ochre-based paint. Highlights • We considered all the wall remains in the caves as a whole, including non-figurative red marks. • We surveyed and recorded all these kinds of remains in four caves dating from the Upper Palaeolithic. • We concluded that some marks have a involuntary origin, associated the dragging of bodies against the surfaces where these marks were located. • We suggest that some of the red marks inside the caves could be caused by the body paint used by Palaeolithic people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ‘Neolithic problem’ refers to forager/farmer interaction in northern Australia, where despite a shared environmental inheritance with their New Guinea neighbours, Indigenous Australians seemingly rejected both the domesticates and the practices of the Melanesian horticultural economy (White, 1971). This ethnographic example is often used to suggest that hunter-gatherers elsewhere may have chosen not to adopt agriculture. However, the premise of the ‘Neolithic problem’ has been criticised for its over-reliance on the ethnographic record and on an anachronistic notion of cultural evolution, which exaggerates the dichotomy between New Guinean agriculturalists and Australian hunter-gatherers. In this paper we review the historical and theoretical treatment of the ‘Neolithic problem’ and the archaeological evidence for subsistence practices in northern Sahul spanning the past 50–60,000 years. Using niche construction theory (Rowley-Conwy and Layton, 2011) to re-examine the archaeological and ethnohistoric record, it is possible to observe the development and expansion of a variety of subsistence systems. Contrary to the premise of the ‘Neolithic problem’, the past 50–60,000 years of occupation in Sahul has seen the development of a varied array of food-producing subsistence practices in both New Guinea and Australia. However, the archaeological evidence for the expansion of horticultural practices and cultivars outside of highland New Guinea suggests a spatially and temporally narrow window for the adoption of agriculture by Indigenous populations in Cape York. Instead, the interaction between different subsistence systems in northern Sahul may have centred on the New Guinea lowlands and the Bismarck Archipelago, where, in the late Holocene, local communities interacted with other Melanesian and Austronesian populations. Whilst further archaeological investigation is required, it is clear that the image of culturally-static Indigenous Australian populations often implied in the consideration of forager/farmer interactions belongs to another era of archaeological thought. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The arrival of European agriculturalists emphatically disrupted the foraging economies of Australia Aboriginal peoples. Introduced farming based on non-native species was practiced over southern and eastern Australia, while much of arid and tropical Australia supported ranch pastoralism. Thus the primary setting for culture contact between Aboriginal societies and outsiders involved agrarian colonialism. In this configuration, some hunter-foragers became herders, domestic animal handlers, and gardeners. The transformation occurred quickly, within a single generation, although was essentially 'uneven' across families, kin groups, and regions. Much of the unevenness resulted from the social and political realities of colonial Australia, alongside environmental parameters. While Australia provides insight into how foraging societies transformed when faced with farmers, these changes occurred in specific historical contexts wherein the contingencies of agrarian colonialism greatly restricted the range of possibilities for Aboriginal people while destabilizing prevailing indigenous anthropogenic environments. This paper argues for an archaeology of agrarian Australia that aims to understand the emergence of Australian historical landscapes from combined Holocene Australian and Early Modern European roots. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper traces and reviews the conduct of obsidian studies in California, with emphasis on the results of provenance studies and hydration dating over the past few decades. Review of substantive results reveals temporal and spatial change in the distribution of certain obsidians in different regions within the geopolitical boundaries of the state, as well as evidence for variation in source-use commensurate with different socio-ceremonial contexts in prehistory. Perspectives and lessons on obsidian use, derived from California studies, can be extended more generally to obsidian studies elsewhere in the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents several production sequence refits from the Late Upper Paleolithic site of Kiusu-5 in Hokkaido, Northern Japan, and discusses these refits as potentially important sources of information about the transportation as well as discarding of stone tools and blanks. A few refits show that reduction sequences were involved in the production of flakes, elongated flakes, and blades, and their modification as well as discarding, allow us to infer their stage in the production-use-discard cycle. Furthermore, many refits illustrate that the sets of formal tools (particularly in endscrapers) not accompanied by manufacturing debris were imported into the site and discarded at that spot. Both patterns of the refits from the Kiusu-5 site may indicate the occurrence of the task-specific activity and the relatively short duration of the occupation of the site. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses possible causes affecting the distribution of Fishtail points in the southern Cone. This distribution is discontinuous, with large territories without diagnostic remains and areas where sites and points are concentrated. Also, most of the sites with this type of points exhibit few specimens, with remarkable exceptions in Uruguay, the Argentinian Pampa and Patagonia and southern Chile. We present thoughts arising from long term research in the central east Tandilia ranges, in the Argentinian pampas with information relevant to this discussion. We call the attention to the importance past social practices have in conforming current point distribution together with the history of research and site visibility. This issue is then considered in the broader regional scale. It is concluded that the discontinuous distribution observed is due to factors inherent to both the original occupations and to current research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we discuss the occupation process of Central Brazilian Plateau during the end of the Pleistocene and the early Holocene calling attention on two main issues: technology and mobility. We work in two spatial scales, local and regional, in order to indicate some long-term processes during the period between 13,000–7000 BP. Based on site distribution, archaeological remains and chronology we propose four distinct periods that should correspond to different phases of the peopling process of this region. Finally, we discuss hypotheses that might explain these changes and we emphasize the importance of integrating practical and symbolic aspects in order to interpret the archaeological record and construct territorial histories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Storage of artifacts is a common behavior among hunter-gatherers. Archaeologically, caches have been identified in different places and time periods. In this paper, we focus on the discussion of the role of caches recovered along the southern boundary of the Deseado Massif, Argentine Patagonia. Two caches, attributed to the colonization of this environment have been identified. Cache information is integrated into the known archaeological record of this space and spaces nearby and compared with data on raw material availability. In order to evaluate the location of the caches and understand human strategies of landscape utilization during this time period, we use GIS approaches along with available paleoenvironmental data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ornaments played a significant role in the life of human communities during the Holocene. This paper explores various aspects (with reference to malacology, technology, function, use-wear, art and symbolism) of the perforated shells made of Lithoglyphus naticoides across Europe during prehistory, with a particular focus on the site of Sultana-Malu Roşu (Romania). The assemblages discussed here are dated during the Copper Age (Gumelniţa culture), in terms of absolute chronology the period between 4500 and 3900 cal. BC. The site of Sultana represents an ideal archaeological situation, primarily due to the existence of the pair settlement – cemetery and clear archaeological contexts, but also because it comprises one of the largest amounts of prehistoric L. naticoides ornaments recorded in Europe. Our analysis allowed us to document the collecting techniques, methodology of perforating the shells, type of use, and to evaluate the costs invested in manufacturing these items, based on experimental replication. This enabled us to reconstruct the social expression and symbolism of L. naticoides utilized by past communities in domestic activities or in funeral contexts as part of the construction, affirmation and maintenance of their identity. When these results are compared with data from other sites containing L. naticoides ornaments across Europe, Sultana-Malu Roşu appears unique in its significance as procurement and processing centre for this type of organic raw material. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the first recognised evidence of bone hoes in South Africa. Two bovine scapulae and a portion of a long bone show use-trace evidence that supports our interpretation as ground-working implements. The scapulae were probably hafted onto wooden handles using a combination of plant fibres and sinew, whereas the tool made from the long bone appears not to have been hafted. Bone hoes represent a short-lived technological innovation, although the reasons to account for this remain speculative. The recognition of these agricultural implements poses interesting questions about the extent and variety of bone working among Iron Age agriculturalists in the Limpopo Valley during the 10th – 13th centuries AD, and potentially also about the nature of women's work in these communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The methods of fishing and hunting in prehistory are a complex subject that needs to be analysed from different perspectives. Comprehensive analysis may enable reconstruction not only of subsistence and economy, but also of technology, social organization and cultural attitude towards the environment. Such studies must include various perspectives and also combine diverse data available from the archaeological record. The identification of fishing and hunting gear is not always easy or straightforward; some artefacts may have had another function, some parts may have been made from perishable materials. Among the Neolithic communities in South-East Europe, hunting and fishing preserved a certain role in the economy after the introduction of domesticated plants and animals. However, findings of hunting and fishing gear are not particularly rich, thus raising questions on the raw materials used and adequate identification of these items. In this paper, an overview will be offered of osseous artefacts identified as hunting and fishing gear recovered from Starčevo culture sites in Serbia; their techno-typological traits will be discussed, as well as their general place within the osseous industry and in the wider context of these communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Late Glacial and early Holocene points and harpoons made of bone and antler are one of the most common finds from these periods in the southern Baltic zone. They are a manifestation of the well-developed hunter-gatherer economy of that time. The presented work deals with a group of characteristic, uniserial harpoon heads which are mostly well known from Late Palaeolithic and Mesolithic contexts. Their common characteristics are: one row of distinct, massive barbs, distinguished tang, and wide, flat base. Originally, the finds of this type discovered on the Polish Lowland, constituted a fairly large collection, with over twenty specimens of this type mentioned in the literature. Unfortunately, the majority of them were discovered at the beginning of twentieth century and most of them were lost during World War II. This paper present the first detailed technological analysis of the seven remaining specimens. The artefacts included represent a valuable source of information on issues related to processing bone material by the Late Glacial and early Holocene communities in the Polish Lowland. Results of the study can also become an important argument in discussion about chronological affiliation of these kind of forms discovered on Polish Lowland. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Halmyris is one of the most important Roman settlements from the Danube Delta, in the easternmost part of Scythia province during the late Antiquity. Its remains are located 2.5 km east from the present-day Murighiol village and 2 km south from the Saint George distributary of the Danube (in Antiquity named Peuce). The fort (2nd – 4th century AD) and early Byzantine city (5th-early 7th century AD) experienced a long existence benefiting of strategic position. Archaeological research on-going from 1981 led to the discovery of the three gates, the thermae, the praetorium, the Basilica with crypt, the barracks on the western side and of the military complex near the north Gate. Additionally, a large number of epigraphic fragments documents the existence of a unique (throughout the Roman Empire) ‘sailor's village’ - vicus classicorum and we may suppose that workshops for processing bone and antler were based there. In autumn 2014, research in the extramural area of the fort started due to necessity of building a new site-museum and tourist's information point. In this paper bone and antler finds found as a result of the excavation are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The site of Tepecik-Çiftlik in southern Cappadocia, Turkey, has provided a rich assemblage of worked bone objects from Pre-Pottery Neolithic (PPN) levels continuing into the extensively excavated Pottery Neolithic (PN) levels and the Early Chalcolithic period (6100-5800 cal BCE). This report presents an initial study of the worked bone objects recovered from the Chalcolithic levels during the 2013 excavation season. This paper examines the methods of manufacture, use-wear traces, and animal species used in the manufacture of two types of Chalcolithic bone tools at Tepecik. The most common tools are pointed implements, primarily made on caprine metapodia, many of which appear to have been used as perforators. Other objects include “idols” made from the first phalanges of equids, including both wild horses and hydruntines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the study of needles made of long human bones ( Homo sapiens ) from the region of Xochimilco, now a quarter in Mexico City, which in pre-Hispanic times was one of the cities conquered by the Aztec empire. We shall discuss the development and use of these needles, as well as the identification of the raw material they are made of and a proposal about what people these bones were obtained from: captives or craftsmen's relatives? The archaeological household at San Pedro, in Xochimilco, presents in its early stages (12th century–15th century) stone technology, and in its final stages (16th century, around the time of arrival of the Spanish conquerors) the possible use of metal. Therefore, it is important to study the technology produced by these different tools. In order to achieve this goal, we have used experimental archaeology with obsidian cutting tools and abrasives (igneous rocks) as well as metal tools and other abrasives (emery). Thus, we have analyzed the use trace, the operational chain ( chaîne opératoire ) and the effort and time spent when applying each of these techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we present recent research concerning the neolithization process in the East of Spain, evaluating the time span between the last hunther-gatherer groups and the first farmers ( c . 5950–5150 cal. BC). To do that we have compiled and filtered current information about radiocarbon dates and sites in order to discuss the state of the art relating to the models used to explain the Neolithic spread in the region. In this sense we compare archaeological data with recent results of virtual model (ABM) in accordance with the scenarios and mechanisms proposed. On this basis we evaluate the empirical data relating to the current model for explaining the Neolithic spread at the region, a mixed model that consider the coexistence between demic and cultural diffusion processes. Finally, the evaluation proposed considers the benefit of introducing the theoretical approaches relating to the Evolutionary Theory and Complex Adaptative Sistems in order to better understand this crucial process in human evolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Euroamericans who encountered the Blackfoot in the late 19th century believed that these Plains bison hunters held the Rocky Mountains in awe and fear, preferring to remain on the prairie even as bison and elk herds dwindled. This incorrect assumption has hampered our ability to understand deep-time relationships between mountain and Plains cultural expressions. Although the historic Blackfoot did not dwell in high elevations, the character of their relationship with the Rocky Mountain Front began in “time immemorial” with the creation of the world, the establishment of social mores, and the group's ethnogenesis. Historical ethnography and contemporary practices furnish rich detail on the depth and significance of relationships among people, mountains, and other-than-human persons, not the least of which is the Blackfoot's partnership with bison. Archaeology tells of an ancient partnership that the ancestors established with the Rocky Mountain Front, which in turn explains their intimate familiarity with elevated environments; as the glacial ice retreated, the ancestors folded this new landscape into their worldviews and practices. This paper tracks the dynamics of this partnership to provide a cultural context for deriving connections and uncovering contrasts among the people who populated America's backbone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The first human arrivals in northern Sahul (New Guinea) encountered new environments, flora and fauna, yet they appear to have rapidly adapted to the challenges of settlement in these different ecological niches. Our paper looks at these adaptations and makes a contribution in understanding the temporal and geographical diversity of rainforest environments occupied by our species. Most of our understanding of these events comes from palaeo-environmental and archaeological records. Here we review the current evidence for the impact of people in forested environments with a view to model landscape management practices from the earliest arrivals at c.50,000 years ago through to the Early Holocene. The first Sahul colonisers were remarkably dynamic, attested to by their rapid dispersal across Sahul in a relatively short time span, and not all would necessarily have arrived in Sahul by the most northern pathway discussed here. The model presented here provides a heuristic framework within which new data can be tested to further our understanding of human activities and subsistence strategies across a diverse range of New Guinea landscapes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the Chinese context, pottery that predates ca. 9000 14 C BP is referred to as “early pottery”. Research on the early pottery of China had been conducted mostly in central and southern China; in contrast, research in northern China has been restricted, and only 5 sites had been discovered to date. Therefore, additional data is needed to foster the progress of research on early pottery in northern China. Given this situation, there is great value in the investigation of the many potsherds associated with microblade industry that have been found in secondary sediments of Layer 5 of the Lingjing site in Henan Province, on the Huang-Huai Plain at the southern end of the North China Plain. Based on AMS 14 C dates (ca. 9.8 cal ka), typological features of the pottery, and features of the other artifacts found at Lingjing, these potsherds are argued by this paper to be examples of early pottery, meaning that Lingjing constitutes a new site yielding early pottery in northern China. Other than these archaeological results, our research on Lingjing pottery has also yielded primary data on stable carbon/nitrogen isotope analysis and starch residue analysis. On the basis of archaeological research on early pottery, including examples from Lingjing, it appears that pottery in northern China generally emerged at the beginning of the Holocene (11.7 cal ka). Therefore, this emergence of pottery was likely related to the rapid warming just after the end of the last glacial period, after the Younger Dryas. The archaeological evidence also indicates increasing utilization of plant resources and diversification of food resources beginning prior to that time, suggesting that early pottery may have played a major role in this change in subsistence strategy in northern China. Archaeological comparisons between the early pottery of northern and central/southern China show substantial differences. Based on its association with microblade technology and on characteristic features such as vessels with a flat base, this early pottery from northern China may be related to that from regions further north, such as the Russian Far East. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Untermassfeld has provided a butchered bone assemblage and a Mode 1 lithic record demonstrating hominin presence at a site which was classically viewed as paleontological. This archaeological record was found during fieldwork and surveying in fluvial river banks and low-to-medium energy channel erosion sediments. Paleomagnetism and biostratigraphy has yielded an age for this hominin occupation close to the onset of the Jaramillo subchron (ca. 1.07 Myr). In this paper we present new taphonomic data of the cut-marked and hammer-related bone material, corresponding mainly to large-sized herd species (i.e., Bison), but also from cervids (Eucladoceros giulii and Cervus s.l. nestii vallonnetensis) and megafaunal species (i.e., Stephanorhinus hundsheimensis and Hippopotamus amphibius antiquus). Distribution of skeletal elements and bone surface features suggests that this bone assemblage consists of animal remains with different taphonomic origins. The assemblage formed during at most two or three sediment-laden floods, transporting both lithic tools and remains of animals that died of natural causes or were killed by predators. The new taphonomic results presented here are important to analyze hominin colonization and adaptation to European mid-latitude environments at 1 Myr, in competition for meat resources with large carnivores (i.e., Pachycrocuta brevirostris and Panthera onca gombaszoegensis). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we present an overview of the process of mapping and field surveying of an area of ancient fields and irrigation canals around the pre-Hispanic sites of Topaín, Paniri and Turi, in the Andean highlands of northern Chile. As opposed to the usual conditions for prospection in temperate or tropical regions, where the surface visibility of archaeological features is often poor and confusing, here the extreme aridity of the landscape has permitted an extraordinary degree of both preservation and visibility of the fields, canals and other constructions. A field methodology based on a combination of an aerial approach (with relatively low-cost resources: high resolution satellite images, GIS, UAV) and field survey has allowed us not only to document the sites but to inject some order into a large assembly of archaeological features: to understand how the system as a whole was built, and how it evolved and changed in time, thus allowing for the proposal of a sound hypothetical sequence of the use and transformation of this area before and after the Inka period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]